County tells resident to ‘build the house first’ before CUP approved

That, in a nutshell, is what the Houston County Planning Commission told Yucatan Township resident Michael Sieve on April 26 and the Houston County Board concurred last week.

Sieve is a nationally-known wildlife artist living on Gunsmith Road overlooking the South Fork of the Root River. He purchased land down in the valley and plans to set up a studio there where he can continue to produce stunning wildlife paintings.

But Sieve would like to set up an art gallery in Yucatan Valley, which would be more accessible for potential customers. In order to have an art gallery where customers can view and purchase his works of art, Sieve needs a home occupation permit. And in order to obtain a home occupation permit, Sieve must be living on that property.

The Houston County Board of Adjustment approved a 20-foot variance that Sieve had requested so that the studio would meet the 65-foot setback from a township road.

However, the planning commission would only recommend approval of the home occupation level II permit contingent on Sieve building a home on that property.

County Zoning Administrator Bob Scanlan explained the situation to the county board. After reviewing the planning commission’s recommendation, the commissioners agreed with the planning commission that the home occupation permit could be approved after the home was built.

Other zoning issues:

Abrahamzon CUP

The county board went along with the planning commission recommendation to approve a conditional use permit CUP for William Abrahamzon to build a dwelling on less than 40 acres in an ag district in Jefferson Township.

Scanlan said that the planning commission reviewed the request and found that the intended use conformed to the county’s land use plan concerning soil type, would not degrade the water quality or increase water run-off and met all requirements for utilities and access roads.

Feine hardship dwelling

The county board also approved a CUP request made by Cory and Dean Feine of Money Creek township to have a mobile home moved onto their property. The mobile home would be for Dean’s father and would only be an allowable use as long as the elder Feine was living in the dwelling.

The CUP was approved with the stipulation that once Feine’s father moves out of the dwelling, the mobile home would be removed from the property.

Zoning permits

Construction season has arrived. Scanlan brought a list of 22 building permits for the board to review. The board unanimously approved all 22 permits. They included: